


Deliver the Message

by lovingtimetravelexpert



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, First Love, Fluff and Humor, Pining, The Enchanted Forest, before the curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-04-30 03:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14487834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovingtimetravelexpert/pseuds/lovingtimetravelexpert
Summary: Robin Mills aka Robin Hood was a person filled with confidence. However, the idea of asking out the cute, blonde and oh so innocent Alice almost drove her nuts.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Margot and Tilly had been quite quick to date, probably because of their connection and their cursed memories about already dating women. Based on the scenes of Alice and Robin in 7x18 it had taken them longer to get together despite them obviously pining over each other, hard. So I thought about writing a bit about the circling around each other theme putting in some of the observations I made while rewatching their scenes.
> 
> Please let me know if I shall continue this or not. I have only a rough idea how it would continue if it does but I would put some work into it, if it is desired.
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

You could say she was nervous.

Which was fine. 

Understandable. 

Totally okay. 

She was nervous, so what? 

Pacing back and forth on one slice of the forest and sweeping away all the foliage with the kick of your boots for what must have been half an hour was a perfectly normal thing to do. 

She was just nervous. 

…

Scratch that! She was jittery! A messy bundle of nerves walking around in tights and an admittedly cool, awesome leather cape, lending her her name. 

Robin Hood, yeah, right. She wondered if her father had ever been as nervous as she was before asking out a girl he liked. Only that he probably had not liked them but fancied them and did not just ask out girls but courted them; wooed them with poetry or some noble, Romeo and Juliet stuff out of the “Shakespearean Guide on How to Pay One's Addresses” or whatever. 

The cape with the hood was the only cool thing about her at the moment and Robin hated it. 

She stopped pacing stomping her feet onto the ground. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, holding it in for one more second before releasing it. 

'Okay, just be cool and don't bow out like last time,' she told herself and gulped. 'Or the time before that.' 

What had happened to Miss Popular of Storybrooke High? She was not used to be like this.

She did not use to be like this. She had been asked out herself tons of times by the boys in school and had not blinked with an eye while shrugging them off. Now, she was the opposite of her usual or rather old self. 

Seemed like hopping into Fairy Tale world and gaining yourself some mastery skills in archery as well as thievery did not translate to gain confidence in asking out girls. 

Though it was not any girl. It was the one girl. The only one girl that had ever been interesting enough to really listen to, to watch closely to memorize all her adorable antics and funny, little quirks and to simply want to be close to: Alice.

The one and only and so beautifully unique Alice. 

Turning on her heels Robin faced the direction in which Alice's hut lay, just behind the by now familiar slope. It would come soon into her sight, if she crossed the last few feet. Which was why she put down roots here in the beginning, going all queasy all of a sudden. 

She was sure, Alice was already waiting for her outside, like she always seemed to do. It was neither fair to Alice nor Nook to keep them waiting. After all that was the prime reason why she was here, to help Alice get into contact with her father. 

It just so happened that Robin developed feelings for the other girl. 

Deep feelings. 

Upon meeting she had been fascinated with the girl whose hair was a bright warm gold but in the course of one single day Robin's heart had jumped, had ached and had fluttered for her. By now, only a few meetings later, her whole being reacted to Alice as if she was under a spell and when Alice wasn't close all Robin could do was think about her. 

And yet, despite the yearning Robin felt, she had not been able to devise a master plan on how to address her feelings towards Alice. Where could she even begin to explain she was feeling something beyond friendly emotions when the other girl likely had no idea this was possible. 

'Move. At least bring her the letter. That's why you came here.' 

Huffing one last time Robin began to march towards her destination, her goal solidified on her mind and carrying her feet in certain strides. 

She was here to deliver the letters between Alice and her father. That was her task. Alice never asked for her to come for another reason. Never asked Robin for something else. She was always polite and nice but there was no sign that she felt the same thing about Robin. She did give Robin the clock that ran backwards in exchange for the bracelet but that might have been meant friendly.

They were friends after all. 

Robin had to respect that. Setting her mind on this thought she walked purposefully closer to the little hut in one of the larger clearings west of the team's camp. 

However, when Alice came into sight, sitting on one of her rocking chairs on her porch sewing something together with furrowed brows and lips tightly pressed together in concentration, Robin's mind blurred and the purpose in her steps faltered to a soft gait. 

God help her. 

“Alice,” she hushed breathlessly and couldn't help but smile as the energetic girl's head wiped around giving the rocking chair a forceful push with a dazzling broad smile spreading on her face when their gazes met. 

“Robin!” 

Jumping onto her feet and throwing her work onto the chair without a second glance, Alice met her halfway on the porch, stopping a few feet in front of her. 

They smiled at each other and Robin's stomach became overflowed with butterflies as she took in the sight of the pretty blonde. Her eyes shone like moonlight dropping onto the ocean. Her hair as bright as her smile pleaded to be touched. She wore her blue, thick coat with the charming, satin bow in the same color as her eyes were when she was laughing. 

Robin swallowed down her trance when she noticed how they just stood and stared. 

“I –, “ Snatching the letter from the pouch within her coat, she held it out for Alice. “I've got another letter from your father.” 

“Oh, of course.” Alice's smile dropped for a second as she retrieved a letter of her own from beneath her coat and took her father's letter in exchange. “Thank you, Robin.” 

Alice smile recalled another one from Robin. 

She couldn't help it. She was lost in this smile. 

“Why... Why don't you come inside for a bit? I could brew some tea,” Alice said, her smile becoming shy and – if possible – cuter. Her fingers fiddled with the edge of her father's letter. 

A tingle ran up Robin's spine and she huffed. Her palms started to sweat under Alice's hopeful gaze while her mind screamed at her, 'Here you go. Take the bait!' 

But... 

“I'd like that but...” 

It wasn't that she had any problems with being in love with a woman or that she had any trouble talking – talking was one of her best features. She could have majored in talking, if that was a real thing. It wasn't that she was scared to ask Alice out because of herself. No, she'd love to simply pop out the question. 

It was because of Alice, she couldn't. 

The girl who had been on so many magical adventures was experienced in ways Robin would likely never be but then again, she was as innocent as they come on other levels. 

Did she have any idea what was going on inside of Robin? What she called forth with just a smile or a pout? 

And so Robin continued with her stomach dropping, “But I have to deliver this to your father.” 

The light in Alice's face was gone. Sadness glazed over in her eyes for a moment befpre she caught herself. Robin didn't miss it and felt her heart clench painfully. The last thing she would ever want was to hurt Alice. 

“I am certain my Papa wouldn't mind, if the letter reached him later,” Alice said lowly. 

Robin's eyes fell to the ground insecurely. What was the right thing to do? Robin felt like she couldn't do right. Either she'd hurt her friend or she would impose on Alice with all these feelings she could barely keep at bay. Helplessly she stuttered with a shrug, “I don't know – I... I don't want to disappoint. He probably can't wait to hear from you.” 

Her heart stuttered as well, when Alice grabbed her hand reassuringly and chirped, “It is fine! Last time I wrote him I asked if he minded you keeping me company for a while. I am sure his reply is a positive one. Shall I take a look?” 

Robin's mind had trouble keeping up. Surprised her eyes flitted to Alice's and she asked, “You wrote your father about me?” But she already knew Alice had. She had been awfully embarrassed when Nook had inquired about Alice in front of the whole team and Robin had – like the brain-dead she was when it came to Alice – asked him what Alice wrote about her, blurting out the question like a giddy, young girl on the schoolyard, effectively trapping all eyes on her. 

Even now, she felt heat creeping over her neck up to her cheeks when she remembered that knowing smile on her mother's face. 

“I did. You don't mind, do you?” Alice said with half a smile, caught on the line between hope and fear. 

“No, of course not.” 

It was time for Robin to reassure Alice, squeezing her fingers around hers and giving her a heartfelt smile which spread a grin on the blue eyed girl's face. 

“Let's see then,” the later exclaimed enthusiastically. Her accent poured like honey, sending a jolt up and down Robin's body. 

Robin felt Alice's fingers leave hers almost reluctantly and watched her breaking the seal of the letter before opening it. Blue eyes scanned the letter for a while before Alice seemed to have found what she was looking for. 

“Ah, yes, here it is,” she cleared her throat and began to read, “'I am glad you found a friend, love. Of course Robin can stay as long as she wants. She is a perfectly fine –'” Alice stopped abruptly. A major blush exploded on her cheeks while she folded the letter closed with trembling fingers. 

“What was that?” Robin asked, meaning both: The rest of the sentence and Alice's reaction. It couldn't be... 

Or could it? 

“Nothing,” Alice mumbled. 

Robin mustered Alice's face, the red hue painted her cheeks lovely, her eyes were fleeting anywhere, seeking to settle on anything other than on Robin. The way Alice worried her lips set a pool of tingling heat below Robin's stomach aflame and dried up her throat. 

Thirstily her eyes drank in every bit and piece of Alice's reaction. There was no way – 

“Do you want to come in?” Alice inquired, eyes lifting beneath her lashes, while she bobbled back and forth on the heels of her shoes. 

Breaking out of her stupor, Robin watched the innocent but flirty behavior. Hope bloomed inside her and she took a big leap at the idea of taking chances. 

Having her confidence somewhat returned, Robin leaned forwards and replied with a big smirk, “Love to.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin accepts Alice's invitation for tea and they get closer.  
>  
> 
> _A/N: Thank you guys for your encouragement! Since I'm writing F/F for the first time your approval means a lot to me!^^_
> 
> _Changed rating for swearing and mild, suggestive content._
> 
> _There is not much plot but a great deal of Alice and Robin interacting. And you might find some candies. ;) Plus, there are references to Tilly/Margot scenes because I love how they are mirrored in EF and HH. Kudos to the one who finds them all! XD_
> 
>  

 

One of the biggest changes in her life, since the day she had found Alice lurking a few hundred feet away from the team's camp, was how Robin regarded things. She had always been looking for some adventure, whether she had picked up the magic book her aunt Regina had given to her or when she trusted Gothel to teach her some awesome sorcery spells.

She was still that person, cherishing an action filled hunt more than sitting at a coffee table and listening, for what must have been the hundred time, to the story of how Henry and Ella met.

Seriously, they reminded her too much of David and Snow, who even in their late forties hadn't been able to stop making heart eyes at each other. Though, she could kinda relate with the sentiment now. Meeting someone special in a special way was, in every meaning of the term, memorable. But listening to those old stories was not her thing.

She loved adventure.

Alice was an adventure.

Every smile she procured was intriguing, every of her laughs was alluring and every breath caught between them when their eyes locked was thrilling.

So Robin didn't find the idea of spending some time sitting close to Alice in the small hut of hers bothersome at all. Quite the opposite, actually. When she walked in, following after Alice, she was excited to see how the other girl lived.

Unlike the times she had been in the rooms of her friends for the first time back in Storybrooke, she was looking forward to find out more about Alice from the way her hut was decorated; what trinkets she kept from her journeys, what things she had saved from her childhood. Robin was sure each of those items were a lot more interesting than any boy group poster or poorly hidden, pre-teen  _Hello Kitty_  collection, her so-called friends possessed.

So when Robin stepped inside, she tried to drink in everything at once: The size of the hut which in the most generous way could only be described as 'tiny', the sturdy looking cupboard straight ahead, on which a tea set rested, next to the big mirror with its blurry edges and the small stool in the middle, show casting a pile of books and a basket filled with wool.

While Robin's gaze shifted from one detail to another, Alice carried a kettle from the kitchen unit in the right corner to the fireplace harboring a dimming fire. Candles, tea cups, bowls and a vase were placed on the sim, looking particularly unorganized. Above it all towered a painting of a ship on the raging sea, painted in dark blue tones. Was it romanticism? Impressionism? Expressionism? Robin could not recall and wished for a moment she would have paid more attention in art class.

“How have you been?” Alice asked as she hooked the kettle in.

'Besides seriously pining for you?' Robin thought while her eyes scooted over the bowed form of Alice in front of the fireplace. The light of the fire warmed the color of her hair and skin.

Robin's heart clenched. Clearing her throat she replied, “Great. And you?”

“I've started preparing for winter, which means a lot of preserving vegetables and meat,” Alice said while feeding a few more logs to the fire.

Turning around Robin noticed the products of Alice's work. Jars piled up next to the cupboard and meat hung from the roof to dry. Having little to no experience in preparing for winter in the Enchanted Forest, Robin could only guess on how much time the other blonde had spend on the task.

“Sounds bothersome,” she commented.

“Not so much. It reminds me of when I used to live in the tower with my papa. It's a tiring but rewarding work.”

Robin's heart ached. In Alice's voice she could hear the typical smile whenever Alice remembered her time with her father. A smile drenched in joy but burdened with regret and despair. “You must miss doing these things with him.”

“As long as I have my memories of him and me doing this together, there is a part of him that's here with me,” Alice said in a soft voice lowering towards the end of the sentence.

Robin thought about her life with her mother in Storybrooke and how she had always complained and nagged when her mother had made her help her in the garden or insisted on doing stuff together, like baking or cooking. The memory spun thick threats of nostalgia in her chest. More often than not, she had given her mother a hard time but she swore herself to do better in the future.

Shaking her head she reminded herself of the here and now. She had yet to finish exploring the private realm of Alice's hut and – if she finally found a way to actually manage – addressing her interest in Alice without the other girl misunderstanding. Based on Alice's behavior earlier, there was a slight chance she reciprocated Robin's feelings. There was not enough evidence, though.

During the past weeks, after she'd discovered she had fallen head over heels for the wonderful Alice, she had given asking out Alice a lot of thought. She had opted to provide an entry like talking about her interest vaguely at first, telling Alice how she had never really been interested in boys but not any girl in particular. Until now. But this tactic seemed too straight forward. The safer option was to propose meeting each other for more than Robin's favor of delivering the letters between Nook and Alice and see how it goes. But Robin was afraid she couldn't keep her infatuation with the blue eyed beauty concealed for long and it would show itself in a not so smart move which would scare off Alice inevitably.

Sucking in a deep breath she pushed down the ideas in hope for an opening during their tea time.

Letting her eyes wander to the left side of the hut, she saw that there wasn't much left to be seen. In the far away corner stood Alice's bed, a closet at its one side and some sort of chest high furniture covered with a drape to the other. In front of Robin was a table with three chairs, one of which was taken by a soft toy rabbit. What stroke her eyes was the chess board set up on the table. While Robin did not understand much of the old-fashioned game which only nerds and old men with cranes would play in her former world, she could see that somebody had been playing. On both sides of the board white and black figurines had been moved and next to it were others that had been taken out of the game.

Moving to the table Robin ran a gloved hand over a white figure looking like a tower, called rook, if she remembered correctly.

“Nice chess board.”

“Thank you,” Alice replied brightly from behind her.

“Have you been playing?” Robin turned around and witnessed Alice taking off her voluminous coat, beneath which she wore almost the same outfit from when they met; a white blouse and leather vest but instead of the red skirt she'd wore now a blue pattered one. It pulled on Robin's heartstrings nonetheless, especially when her eyes caught on the sight of the colorful bracelet she made for Alice hanging on her wrist as if it belonged there.

She was beautiful.

Then again, Alice would probably look good wearing nothing but rags and the bracelet. Though Robin did not want to dwell on the idea of Alice in nothing but rags for too long. Feeling a blush rise she turned to the chess board again, focusing hard on the carved wooden pieces.

“Not for a while. I am still not sure about my next move on the black side. It appears that I am hard to beat,” Alice said cheekily.

Robin hummed amused. Her eyes roamed over the board once more, trying to figure out something about the unfamiliar game.

“Do you play?”

Chess was one of those activities that did not seem too alluring to Robin. But when she turned around and saw Alice smiling at her pleasantly, she couldn't bring herself to bluntly say “No”. She shrugged instead. “I don't know how. Never learned it. Where I come from we have other games. Though I've also grown tired of  _Candy Crush_  pretty quickly.”

Alice's eyes widened and her mouth opened, half agape, half smiling. “You've crushed candies?”

Robin snickered and decided that she loved this expression of Alice caught in between curiosity and wonder. “It was a game on my phone,” she explained and placed her bow and quiver next to the door to fish out her phone and wiggled it in the air in front of Alice. “Remember this?”

Alice nodded and took a step closer. “So you can crush candies inside this thing as well?”

Laughing Robin replied, “It's not so much about the candies. They aren't even real candies to begin with.” Scrolling through her apps, she noted with a scowl how she must have uninstalled the game at some point.

“What is the purpose then? If it's not about the candies and you can't even have the candies why is it even called  _Candy Crush_?” Alice asked, clearly irritated.

“Exactly! That's why my highscore was remarkably low when I stopped playing it.” Disappointed, that she couldn't show Alice what she meant, Robin returned the phone to the pocket of her vest and added dryly, “It was a typical time-waster.”

“Although crushing candies sounds quite enjoyable and it can't be madder than playing croquet with a stubborn flamingo anyway,” Alice said with a smirk.

“Crushing candies for real does sound fun!” Robin agreed grinning. “Maybe we should do that some day. I could take you to a candy store in Tiana's kingdom.”

Her grin dropped when she realized the date-like potential of her suggestion. Cold panic rushed through her veins as she observed the smirk vanishing from Alice's face.

'Here you go with your imposing,' Robin chided herself. But before she could reminiscent about possible escape routes she watched Alice's face transforming into a look of surprise. Slowly a shy and cute smile followed, leaving Robin breathless.

“I'd like that,” Alice murmured sweetly. “Very much.”

Even if somebody would have held a gun at her head, Robin wouldn't have been able not to smile back. Giddiness had knocked the panic out of her body so fast she became dizzy. Perhaps it wasn't impossible her feelings were returned. Perhaps she should make her intentions clear about this  _Candy date_.

Courageously she leaned forward and –

A sudden, shrill and hellish loud whistle boomed through the limited space of the hut, startling Robin out of her state and making her jump a little to her own shame.

Alice seemed shocked as well as she gasped with wide eyes.

Her face turned red and she giggled nervously, “Gosh, I've totally forgotten the tea.” Nibbling on her lip she rounded Robin, who had yet to catch herself, and grabbed the chess board, before balancing it towards the cupboard. “Could you take care of the kettle, please?”

Robin had a hard time coping with the fact that she'd almost asked Alice out for a  _Candy date_. Eventually she was able to swallow her surprise down and took the kettle away from the fire, while Alice set the table.

Silence stretched an uncomfortable screen over the atmosphere while they were both busy with their respective tasks. After having filled the tea pot with hot water from the cattle Robin took off her gloves and cape and sat down in one of the chairs. She thought about lightening the mood.

Her mind settled on something Alice said earlier before they kinda agreed on a  _Candy sort-of-date_. At times she forgot that this Alice was the famous Alice from  _Alice in Wonderland_ , a book she had read a few times during school. Lighthearted she asked with a crooked smirk, “So did you really play croquet with a flamingo?”

Alice scoffed and sat down. “There wasn't so much playing as the flamingo refused to hit the hedgehog. Luckily I could escape the situation and flee before hurting any of the animals. Well, or getting beheaded for that matter.”

With furrowed eyebrows Robin tried to recall what had happened in the book. Each time they talked about Alice's adventures Robin remembered how everything in the book seemed to have been caused by coincidence while in Alice's version most things had been her doing. “Didn't the game turn into a chaos when the Cheshire Cat appeared?”

Tilting her head to the side Alice responded, “No, in reality I've refused to play and kicked an eight of spades into some diamonds causing a lot of them to fall over. I slipped out of the gardens during the havoc,” she paused before adding sarcastically, “The cat is a whole different story.”

Robin tried her hardest to picture Alice kicking a card with head, arms and legs and as big as herself which did not look like a copy of the Disney movie but failed. Not for the first time since hearing Alice's stories her imagination did not seem to match the weirdness that was Wonderland. Almost in disbelief she shook her head at the miracles the other girl had experienced. “The things you must have seen,” she uttered lowly.

Alice chuckled before she rose to her feet and began to serve the tea, “Not everything was pretty to see.”

It was only then that Robin noticed a third cup on the table. Leaning forward she scrutinized the cup, checking for any deviation to the others.

She couldn't stifle a laugh when she saw the cup standing in front of the chair with the soft toy. It resembled a rabbit and looked kinda old.

One of the things so uniquely Alice was how she did things most people considered mad in an adorable and heartwarming fashion. Like now. Serving tea to a soft toy.

When Alice caught on her amusement she humored her, “As you can see, not only do I talk to a hat but have a cuddly toy as a friend, too.” The irony in her voice was emphasized by her accent.

Robin snickered once more before she finally calmed down and leaned back in her chair. When she looked at Alice again, she saw her sitting next to her again but instead of the smile, Robin expected, she wore a deep frown. Alarmed Robin leaned forward, “Are you okay?”

“I am sorry. It's an old habit. It's just that even if it is just pretend company, it feels like I am less alone. Although I am not alone now, so it is silly,” Alice rubbed one hand over her arm and fiddled with the material of her skirt with her other.

Without any reluctance Robin placed her hand on the one above Alice's thigh, seeking to give the blue eyed girl comfort. Winding her fingers around it, she squeezed it tightly once, making Alice look at her before she said, “Hey. No need to feel sorry. I get it. Silent company is better than no company at all.” Robin then nodded towards the stuffed animal with one of her playful smirks forming on her face. “And he looks like he has been through a lot together with you.”

Fortunately, this lead to the desired effect as Alice smiled at her, even if it was a sad smile. “He did. Mr. Rabbit is one of the few things I brought with me when I've escaped the tower. Papa gave him to me when I was little. I have him as long as I can remember and he accompanied me on many journeys.”

“That's nice. He seems to be very special to you. When I came to the Enchanted Forest the only thing I've brought with me were the clothes I wore. They weren't even my personal clothes but my school uniform. Though I had not much of a choice,” Robin replied, recalling the day she had attempted a spell in the crypt of her aunt Regina which lead her to the enchanted forest but also to Gothel. The woman who was Alice's mother. They usually avoided this topic for the woman had done no good in their lives.

“Isn't there anything you miss?” Alice asked, circumnavigating said topic like the captain's daughter she was.

“No, not really,” Robin answered and shrugged. In Storybrooke she had felt restless. In the Enchanted Forest she felt home. As if sharing a secret, she remarked in a low voice, “I guess, deep down I never truly belonged in Storybrooke. It felt like something was missing. Like I've needed a reason to stay.”

“And you've found it here?” Alice asked softly and bewitching.

There was something in Alice's voice, something in her eyes which chased the air out of Robin's lungs and made her heart pick up a violent pace.

All of a sudden she became very aware that they hadn't stopped holding hands. Her skin tingled at the warmth and she rubbed a finger over the back of Alice's hand. She could not tell if it were her own fingers that quivered in the wake of the touch.

Transfixed she watched the blue eyes glaze over, darkening with an emotion Robin had not seen in them until now. Before she could stop herself she whispered, “I might have,” words roughened by the dryness of her throat.

Her eyes ran over Alice's face, fleeting restlessly between eyes and lips.

Deep blue eyes stared back at her. Pink lips fluttered open. The motion called for Robin's eyes to drop down where they stayed to linger.

Her other senses dulled.

The sound of her own heart beat deafened in her ears and she began to lean in, holding her breath. Coming closer, she almost felt the shadow of Alice's hot breath tingling over her own lips.

Goosebumps rose on her skin and a fire raged within her, threatening to burn her flesh, when she shifted clos–

Bam!

Pain exploded in her knee and Robin yelped, while jumping back from the collision between knee and table-leg.

“Holy crap!”

Tears stung in her eyes and she hissed through clenched teeth as she arched her back and rose her knee to hold it. “Shit.”

The pain throbbed through her leg and in realization of what just happened, she squinted her eyes open and looked at Alice, who appeared to be lost in shock.

A moment later the bright blonde leaped to her feet and was at Robin's side, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Oh my goodness, Robin! Are you alright? Can I bring you something? Does it bleed?”

Robin groaned, feeling a headache starting. After having been snatched out of a state of urging excitement very abruptly, the pain from hitting her knee against the table tormented her senses. Blinking the tears away, she huffed, “I'm fine,” unwilling to appear more uncool than she already did.

“I am so sorry,” Alice uttered desperately.

“It's not your fault. I was the one who wasn't paying attention.” Robin sighed deeply and let go of her leg, planting the foot back on the floor. The throb in her knee had simmered down and she rubbed the spot for damage control. It would most definitely bruise.

Rising her gaze at Alice she saw regret clouding the blue and she wondered, if it was because of the “knee knocking on table's claw” incident or something else. Maybe the interruption? Or maybe the almost kiss in the first place?

Robin wasn't sure and her insecurity made her vulnerable to the feeling of shame.

After a few more moments Alice backed away and returned to her seat, eyeing Robin up and down now.

Silently they watched each other. Neither of them seemed ready to rise the topic of what occurred mere moments before.

'You're so lame,' Robin told herself. How could she have messed up this perfect opportunity for a kiss so badly? She hoped nobody would ever write a ballad about her romantic life. It would seriously harm the name  _Robin Hood_. Mockingly she thought, 'Robin Hood, champion of the common people fighting against injustice, unable to properly kiss her girl.'

Not even her girl.

A girl.

THE girl.

The ridiculousness of the situation became frighteningly clear to her and she felt heat rise to her cheeks.

In her embarrassment she began to chuckle. The chuckle became a giggle and when looked at the other girl, she saw how Alice became infected, too. Joined in, they both soon found themselves heaving with laughter.

She had no idea how long they were caught in the fits of laughter but when they finally calmed down Robin pushed away tears and saw Alice was doing the same thing, holding onto her stomach with one arm.

Having calmed down her nerves, Robin hummed, feeling much more relaxed. Not wanting to make the situation awkward again, she chose to ignore what almost happened earlier and picked up the conversation where they had left it off, “Anything else you brought back from the tower?”

Alice's face fell for a blink of an eye before she smiled again. But Robin had noticed and she did wonder, if the blue eyed beauty was disappointed about the change of topic. She had no time to dwell though for Alice almost immediately responded, “Not so much a thing than an activity I used to keep myself busy with whenever my papa left the tower.”

Alice rose to her feet and walked towards the one piece of furniture next to her bed that was covered with a drape. Pulling it aside she revealed what was no furniture but a propped up canvas.

Only seeing the back of it, Robin stood up as well and walked over. “What are you painting?”

“It's me and my papa when we are reunited,” Alice explained, unfazed of showing her art.

Stopping in front of the canvas, Robin could clearly see what Alice had just described. In vivid colors she saw a dark-haired man in a black, long coat hugging a blonde girl dressed just like Alice in a forest. The resemblance to both people was strikingly obvious. Amazed at Alice's talent Robin breathed, “Wow. It's really life like. You are like that Monet guy.”

“Thank you,” Alice said with one of her prettiest smiles. “Whoever this money guy is.”

“Mon – Forget it. It's not important,” Robin said half jokingly and continued to examine the painting, eyes rushing over numerous of paint brushes amounting into a work of art. She was enchanted by the depth of the colors. No photograph could compare to this portrayal of Alice and her father. Nevertheless, for all it's beauty, there was something odd about the painting. While everything was extremely detailed with all the shades and light, the upper half on the left was untouched. The canvas was free from any paint, gawking back shamelessly naked. Rising her eyebrows Robin looked at Alice in puzzlement, “Why is the left side empty?”

Alice shrugged and brushed the sole of one of her boots over the floor tiles. “I don't know. It's as if something is missing. I've been working on this for so long. Maybe the reason why I can't finish it is because I have found no way to be close to papa again or maybe it's because I don't feel like painting when I am alone.”

Something was missing... Robin could relate to that idea. After all she had found what or rather who was missing for her. The one person who was now looking at the canvas with a sadness and longing that made Robin's heart bleed for her.

She would do anything to help Alice find what was missing for her, even if it was just her company so Alice wouldn't feel alone. In a strong voice she told her, “You know if you want more company I could come for more than the letters. You know that I am there for you.”

Light rose in Alice's eyes and Robin felt pride swell inside of her at having chased away the clouds shielding the sun away.

They were a bright blue now, only bested in their brightness by the smile that formed on Alice face. In this moment Robin knew she had just created a painting herself. In her mind she would always be able to procure this image again and again.

“Perhaps I could teach you how to play chess,” Alice told her with the tone of mirth masking her voice.

Itching to respond with a sassy comment, Robin almost back flipped when she saw Alice still smiled at her as if she was the moon and the stars. Instinctively Robin grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers.

She looked at Alice and with half a smirk she said, “Yeah. Maybe.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Mad Archer/Curious Archer observation**
> 
> Don't know if you know but checking timelines, something stroke me: Robin came to the Enchanted Forest when she was 18 and shortly after Lucy was born. When the curse was cast Robin was 25 and Lucy was 8. When Alice and Robin met, we see baby Lucy and she is like one year old and Robin says herself, she is “kinda new” there. What I am saying is we have roughly 7 years between the first meeting of Alice and Robin and the casting of the curse when they are undoubtedly together. Sooo either we have a major case of up to seven years slow burn or up to seven years of a romantic relationship. 
> 
> It's hard to tell and the show does not give much away. Though based on Zelena's comment on “case of young love” it points more to the first one which is mind-numbing!
> 
> Seriously! Just try to imagine them meeting every few weeks and pining for each other like they did in the flashback scenes of 07x18 for years!!! I know I can't. And it is not like they were platonic from the start, based on how they looked at each other during their first adventure. At one point this would have to lead to ripping off clothes. (Which would be part of another fanfic... XD)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few have weeks passed. Robin is on her way to Alice again, daydreaming and stuff. However, fate does not seem to be too kind to her.

 

There was something funny about the change of seasons in the Enchanted Forest. Seasons had a large control on people. They arranged their lives to suit the weather, not the other way around. They sowed seeds and planted veggies at the start of the year, they nurtured and harvested their yield before they prepared for a less active time when the winter would keep them inside. With the fall the start of change came, stripping the trees of its green and soaking the lands in heavy downpours.

One of those seemed to built right now, in form of gray clouds above the increasingly thinning crowns of trees, as Robin was on her way from Queen Tiana's palace to Alice.

It was time for yet another letter delivery and chess lesson.

It would be a long walk till she arrived at Alice's hut but it would also be a while for the rain to start. That did not keep the merchants and couriers from hurrying up and down the main road on their feet, their horses or their carriages already. One of the latter had almost run over Robin a few moments earlier. Robin was reminded of a movie she had seen as a kid, a three dimensional animation of ants and bugs racing in streams to get their work done.

Though rain could be a dangerous and at times even lethal type of weather.

Unlike the concreted streets with the whole package of gutter and drain in Storybrooke, paths inevitably turned into mud lanes here. People did not use umbrellas but were shielded by the leather of their coats and the treetops holding smaller raindrops at bay; or they waited beneath trees in hope for the stronger shower of rain to settle down. Sometimes it did not work. Sometimes they got wet, sometimes they got ill and sometimes they died.

Life was harder in the Enchanted Forest than it had been in Storybrooke.

Life was more sincere and yet Robin couldn't complain.

When her coat got heavy from the rain and her clothes filthy, stained by the mushy paste of the ground, she did not bat an eyelid. When her boots sank in the mud on her travels she did not curse – unless she was stuck for sure. She hated it when the mud threatened to pull off said boots.

However, there was hardly any condition which would bum her out for good.

She loved the smell of rain and the soft and musky scent of the woods. She loved the sight of the leaves falling, covering the forest floor with warm, citrus colors.

She felt at peace here, more than she ever felt at home, when she would wait for the rain to stop, chatting with her alleged friends, slash followers, about some nonsense on the phone or trying to avoid her mother's ideas of quality bonding time.

One time or another Robin had sneaked out while it rained, heading towards the forest at the outer rim of Storybrooke to savor the atmosphere.

It had felt like true magic to her. Unlike the weird sensation she would sometimes get thanks to the magic she had possessed back then.

She was never meant to be a witch.

By now she knew that, even if she had never known her father, never had been able to be with him, this side of her was his heritage. Her strive for adventure, her talent for archery and her love for nature brought them closer. Even if they weren't and could never truly be. It was similar to what Alice said about having a part of her father with her by doing stuff they had used to do together.

A tingling sensation crawled over her skin as her thoughts drifted to the petite blonde.

They often did.

It had become second nature to Robin by now.

She didn't even mind the momentary falter in her steps as she walked down the road, ignoring fellow travelers for the sake of day dreaming about the pretty blue eyed girl with sun kissed hair.

Alice resembled a summer day. Eyes as blue as a sunny sky and hair as bright as the sun.

No matter the weather outside, she was the reminder of warmth and light and... And all the other things that made a summer beautiful.

As if the weather could read her thoughts a cold breeze mocked Robin, almost pushing off her hood. Pulling it over her head again, she clicked her tongue annoyed at the disturbance.

The wind was picking up slowly and Robin figured she'd better pick up her pace in kind, if she wanted to reach Alice's without looking like a wet dog.

Though, the wind had a point: While Alice resembled a summer day, her personality was the same and more. Like thunder and lightening crossing a bright sunny sky.

Back home, there had been nothing more mesmerizing to her than the atmosphere after a downpour in the forest. There had been nothing more exciting and exhilarating than to suck in the crisp and potent rain washed air.

That was until Robin met Alice.

Nothing was as vivid to Robin as Alice.

She was like the thunderous drum of rain and the mythical tranquility after a rainy day at the same time.

She was the brightness of summer and the magic of fall.

Every experience with Alice was a moment to live for.

Even learning and playing chess had not been as awful and boring as Robin had feared. Listening to the blonde talk about chess with passion and glee, watching her grin while moving a knight or nibble on her lower lip in concentration and seeing her bouncing back and forth in her seat while she waited for Robin to make her move, was definitely the best thing about this game.

And the sweetest reward of loosing was Alice's reaction after she'd won. Which she always did.

While Alice had not been a bad teacher, she was a very distracting one and Robin was a not so good pupil, usually forgetting to scan the board before making a move, more interested in Alice than the actual match.

And Alice's winning reaction was pure gold: It was either a pout or a content, almost cunning, smile, depending on how much effort Robin had been able to put into a game to make it last. Either of both made Robin the secret winner of each match. The first one because it made Robin's heart leap in her chest due to its sheer cuteness and the other because it gave Robin ideas to see this smile in another context, sending waves of heat from her center to her core.

She got it bad. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy this.

Weeks had gone by since the day Robin entered Alice's hut for the first time. She'd dropped the “asking out” question after her embarrassing clash with Alice's table. And besides some smoldering glances from her side, their last few meetings stayed rather platonic, forcing Robin to admit to the crushing possibility that her feelings were, in fact, one-sided.

It wasn't that Robin wouldn't love to just pop out the question to be sure once and for all but she was afraid she would ruin what they had. Alice needed a friend first and foremost and that was what Robin was going to be for the time being.

So what if she enjoyed watching Alice's energetic nature bloom or her sweet innocence unfold until she had irrefutable proof that they could be more than friends? So what if she had spontaneous fantasies of Alice sending her this particular, cunning smile, eyes glinting temptingly while she undressed – maybe opening the ties of her ruched blouse tormentingly slow before she nudged the silky material off her shoulders, porcelain skin lied bare to the sight, and –

“HEEEEELP!”

Robin flinched, startled at the dark and used voice screaming for help, punching her ruthlessly out of her daydream. Her muscles froze as if an ice bucket hit her and she released a puff of air. Her heart raced. Now in shock.

What the – ?

Fighting off her disorientation she blinked her eyes and looked up.

It was just in time as she became aware of the black horse galloping towards her at high speed.

She yelped and jumped to the side, barely preventing being trampled to death as the animal rushed by.

THE HELL?!

This had to be the worst turn off!

Ever!

Closely followed by the “knee knocking on table's claw” incident from a few weeks ago, of course.

“Help! He stole my pouch!” The old and male voice screamed again from the direction the horse had emerged from.

Shaking her head and taking a deep breath she tried to get rid of her annoyance.

She was Robin Hood.

Robin Hood did not sulk because of a suffocated arousal.

Robin Hood helped those who needed it.

In an instant she raised her bow and whipped around to the run away horse and its rider. Swiftly she pulled an arrow from her quiver and aimed.

The horse was fast. A few hundred feet away. Adrenaline flushed through her veins, as she greeted the challenge.

Licking her lips, Robin waited for the right moment to shoot.

She held her breath.

Everything blurred around her as she calculated the strength of the wind and observed the motions of the horse, the rider on top and his brown cape flapping in the blast of air. Up and down. Up and down. She watched until she found the perfect angle.

Then she released the arrow.

It went off with a swoosh. Within a second it drilled through the air, flew across the road, past bushes and trees and hit its mark. A harsh knock echoed through the forest as the tip pierced into wood.

Robin smirked, pleased with her accuracy.

'Check and mate,' she praised herself cockily, unable to keep the arrogance out of her inner voice. She knew she was good, after all.

Plunged deep into the trunk of a tree, the arrow trapped the thief's coat up high while his horse continued to run. The unfortunate, unseated rider dangled from the coat above the ground. His face was contorted in shock.

Lowering her bow, she jogged over to him. When he reached for his belt, she retrieved another arrow and quickly aimed at his head, yelling, “Stop! If you don't want your head to suffer the same fate as your coat you keep your hands where I can see them.”

In response the thief retrieved his hands from his belt with widened eyes, rising them in front of him to show his surrender.

With long strides she closed in on the thief. Behind her she heard someone else approach, panting harshly. She looked over her shoulder and saw a simply dressed, old man. His dirt smeared face, a poorly shaved beard and a gaping hole between the teeth led her to the conclusion that he might be a farmer having sold his goods to Queen Tiana before heading back home. She knew she could trust her instincts but stayed cautious, nevertheless. Her experiences from former encounters similar to this taught her to question first.

“Thank you, mate,” the elderly man uttered breathlessly while passing.

Robin observed him as he bounced on his legs towards the culprit, who was still nailed to the tree, and searched him until he found a pouch. Looking inside he released a relieved sigh.

Slowly, she lowered the bow.

The supposed farmer turned around, his pouch clutched tightly in his earth crusted hands, and smiled at her gratefully. “How can I repay you?” he asked.

“Don't worry,” Robin replied with a little shrug and curl of her lips. “I don't charge good deeds.”

“Could you at least tell me your name?” He said waving his hands towards her, head bowed slightly.

Folding back the hood of her coat, Robin rose her chin and proudly announced, “I'm Robin Hood.”

“Wasn't Robin Hood a guy?” He uttered in disbelief.

She bit back a groan.

Seriously, she was growing tired of how often she had to explain that she is in fact Robin Hood.

Seemed like every realm had its misogynistic assholes. And it wasn't only men. She couldn't count how often she'd been at the receiving end of this doubtful gaze from men and women alike. She wondered how emancipation could ever be a real thing if women preferred their gender to swing brooms instead of swords.

Rolling her eyes she muttered unnerved, “I'm his daughter. The new Robin Hood.”

Surprised he blinked and then he barked out a laugh.. “Strewth, I thought Robin Hood vanished for good! Glad to have someone like you around again!”

Okay, maybe he wasn't that misogynistic.

Robin's irritation deflated and she watched him with furrowed eyebrows while he tried to retie the pouch to his belt with the cut through strap.

“Anyhow, thank you, Robin Hood, and stay cautious,” he said with a big smile, showcasing the gap between his teeth. “A storm is brewing.”

Not buying his forecast Robin frowned. “No, it's not. It will be just another rain shower.”

“Trust me, lass, I've walked beneath this sky for more than fifty years and that,” he emphasized with a finger pointed to the sky, “won't be a simple rain shower.”

Robin raised her gaze towards the sky. Her eyes widened at the sight. Through the tree tops she could see the clouds drifting by at a higher pace than before, visibly darkened as they had joined forces.

...

Okay, maybe there was a slight chance she had underestimated the change of weather.

'I better get going, I guess,' she thought, refusing to feel foolish, before she glanced once more at the man and nodded at him, “Thanks for the advice. And you might wanna keep away from cloaked figures in the future. That's usually a tell-tale sign for shady business.”

With that Robin turned on her heels and hurried to Alice, hoping she'd get there before the storm did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I had to split the chapter because of length issues. I still have to finish the other part... The dialogue is done but the whole framework is missing. ;P
> 
> No Alice in this one.... But hey at least we got some action, cocky and smirking and amazingly-cool-with-a-bow Robin who also daydreams about Alice and is so hopelessly and madly in love with her it's almost too much... 
> 
> Oh and if you think this chapter is mostly filler, wait for the next chapter. There is more into this than it might look like. I swear. XD
> 
> Don't be scared to tell me what you think. I don't bite!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin reaches Alice's hut. While they sit out the storm she makes some new and nice discoveries.
> 
> A/N: Thank you for all the kudos, comments and bookmarks! Especially comments give me life!^^

 

Robin didn't get to Alice before the storm.

Nope.

Staggering through the woods, her coat wet and heavy resting on her shoulder she barely made it to Alice's hut as to not get the shielding garment seriously soaked through while the rain slapped against her from every possible direction and the wind forcefully pulled and pushed at her clothes.

Her sight, blurred through the fierce downpour, finally landed on the small hut after what felt like hours of fighting against the rising storm. Through squinted eyes she was able to make out the dark silhouette of Alice's home.

A relieved smile curved her lips.

It was far from over. But at least she made it to sit out the rest of the storm with a roof above her head.

The gray mist of rain lay over the woods, the wettly gleaming foliage on the ground was slippery and Robin was lucky to have found the way to Alice's hut without getting lost. With the colors drained and the bushes and branches deformed on the whim of the wind, the familiar forest had become estranged.

Picking up her pace, Robin closed in, enchanted by the simmer of warm light coming from inside Alice's hut. It was the promise of a heated place to dry and relax and to spend time with the even more enchanting woman.

An angry yell pierced through the ruckus of the storm all of a sudden.

Robin stopped in her tracks, trying to trace the yell back despite the wind carrying sounds from all directions.

“Bugger this! Move, you bloody cart!” She heard from afar over the whistling wind and drumming rain shower. It was Alice's voice!

With a jolt Robin took off, rushing towards the rough direction of Alice's angry yells. When she did not see the blonde around the hut, her heart lashed out, jabbing hard against her ribcage. Her breath left her and she jogged around the humble building panting fiercly. Her head whipped from one side to the other as she searched the field and the garden for Alice, not minding the spray of water getting into her widened eyes.

And there she was! Across the field. Half hidden behind a cart filled with firewood which she stemmed her back against.

Relief flooded Robin. It stroked her heart soothingly and chased away the anxiety. Swallowing to wet her dried up throat, she mustered Alice more thoroughly and frowned.

The other girl was drenched! Blonde hair darkened by water was plastered to her head and her clothes clung to her body. She groaned while pushing against the unyielding cart. A torn up tarp hung loosely from a stripe, tied to the cart but fluttering vigorously in the wind. An image of Alice sitting on her porch and stitching up something rose to Robin's mind. The image burst when she heard a yelp and watched Alice slip and vanish behind the cart.

“Alice?!” Robin called out. She shouldered her bow and jogged towards the scene while the blonde struggled to her feet.

Alice looked jumpy and embarrassed as she turned around to face Robin. A blush formed on her cheeks, framing the dark streaks of washed off eye shadow, and she awkwardly greeted Robin with a wave. “Robin! I did not expect you to come over in the middle of a storm.”

“Trust me, me neither,” Robin said with half a laugh.

They stood in front of each other, eyes locked, until a stronger gust of wind shoved against them, reminding Robin of their current situation. Outside. In a rainstorm. Robin's coat starting to leak and Alice already soaked from head to toe. They needed to get inside. Fast.

With a nod she motioned towards the cart. “Care if I'd lend you a hand?”

Alice nodded with a grin, “I'd be much obliged for any help in moving this dumb thing.” She rolled up her wet sleeves and cheered, “Let's do this then.”

She returned to her earlier stance, pressing her back against the object while Robin took the right side next to her, facing towards the cart, arms stretched. She put all her weight into the push, ignoring the relentless assault of the rain and wind into the opening of her hood.

The cart did not yield an inch. Instead it seemed to have sunken deeper into the puddle of mud it was stuck in.

Gritting her teeth, Robin tried again. This time using the strength of her legs – a benefit from running track for three years.

The damn thing did not move, though, and the mud beneath her boots gave away, forcing her to reposition her legs. She tried it another time but her efforts were futile.

Robin grunted in exertion. Next to her Alice got all whezzy.

This seemed hopeless.

If Alice was able to utilize her magic, they wouldn't need to struggle. If only Robin still had her magic, she could help her more than putting her weight into the task. But she couldn't.

She couldn't even show or explain Alice magic because Alice was different.

Alice's magic was creation.

It wasn't based on destruction or deformation. She could procure anything out of thin air. It was different from any magic Robin had ever known about.

But it didn't matter right now because it wouldn't help them.

Pushing herself into a straight position, she let go of the cart. Her tunic clung uncomfortably to a point on her back where water had finally sipped in. It was nastily cold. She had no idea how Alice was holding up, being drenched to the skin and for god knows how long outside in the storm, trying to move the cart.

Worry filled her taking in the sight of Alice's fair complexion looking paler than ever and the goosebumps scattered over her bare forearms. Robin did not want to think about the repercussions of Alice's rashness. She needed to get warm and dry quickly.

“Alice, you need to let the cart go.”

“I can't,” the blonde grumbled, straightening against the cart but staying close to the back panel. Her eyes flittered over the field before they found Robin's. “I've chopped wood for days! If I leave it here, it will never dry in time and I won't have enough to see me through winter.”

“You'll freeze to death now, if you don't let it go,” Robin explained calmly despite her rising irritation.

Alice shook her head. Her sincere face was traced by a hint of sadness. Her lips were pressed to a thin line.“I cannot give up.”

“I'll help you chop new wood. Even more wood. Just let the stupid cart go and get the hell out of this storm and inside,” Robin insisted, more resolute this time.

“No.”

With raised eyebrows Robin blankly stared at Alice, who simply folded her arms and stared back at her while the rain ran down her face. “Seriously?”

When the other girl neither replied nor bat an eyelid, Robin huffed annoyed.

Why was Alice so damn stubborn? Robin contemplated for a second picking her up to carry her inside but released a hot breath instead, which made her nostrils quiver. She snarled,  “Fine!”

Stomping to the front side of the cart she picked up the shaft, her mind set on the idea of getting this done and Alice inside. Fast. “You push. I pull.”

She tugged at the shaft with all her strength and kicked against the slippery and sludgy ground. She pulled even when her arms ached. From behind her she heard Alice groan. Robin pulled harder.

Finally she felt it move. More dragged than rolling but moving nevertheless.

Gathering up the rest of her strength Robin gave it her all until the cart was finally free, rolling over the solider ground. Together they dragged it beneath the shelter next to Alice's hut and took a pause.

Robin leaned a shoulder against the outer wall of the hut, catching her breath while Alice puffed quick, sharp intakes with her elbows resting on the cart. After a while she gurgled a bubbly laughter and said, “Thank you.” Mischief glinted her eyes before she added with a smirk, “Nobin,”

Robin tilted her head, trying to give Alice a scolding gaze but couldn't keep it up. Grinning she shook her head. “Will you ever listen to me? Once?”

“But I always listen to you,” Alice countered brightly. “And yet I don't heed your advice or warnings at times.”

Robin chuckled at Alice's witty interpretation. “Let's get you inside.”

Alice nodded with a hum and led the way.

Getting inside, the first thing Robin did was taking her bow off her shoulder to place it next to the door, farther away from the fire so the leather coating wouldn't shrink while drying. The heavy leather coat followed as she hung it close to the door, too, scrunching her nose at its smell.

Weirdest scent of this world? Wet leather.

Drying her face with a sleeve she turned around to Alice who just dropped her bodice vest to the floor. It fell with a wet thud. Her white blouse left little to the imagination and Robin jerked her head away with a gasp when her eyes traced the contours of rosy peaks staining against the fabric.

Robin swallowed. Hard.

Heat trickled through her veins and pooled below her stomach.

It was just her luck to turn around at that particular moment. She would never be able to cauterize this image or banish it from her mind.

Fortunately, Alice seemed to have missed her reaction. While Robin tried to chase away the image she told her to make herself comfortable.

Robin was almost certain she might never be comfortable again as she stood rooted to the ground, her face heated and heart thundering in her chest. Further thumps followed resounding through the hut, procuring further images of Alice undressing inside her mind and making the harsh whistles and pounding of the rain resemble a whisper.

Clearing her throat, she tried to concentrate on something – anything else.

And so she discarded her doublet giving her tunic a chance to dry as well.

Dry, like everything around here should be and most definitely everyone.

Sucking in a deep breath Robin opted for rekindling the fire.

Bowing in front of the fireplace, she picked up a few logs from the basket and put them onto the starving flames. Her tunic clung to the skin of her back but other than that she felt too warm, too uncomfortable and way too vulnerable without her doublet and coat.

“What will I ever do without you?” Alice's voice came from behind her.

Shifting around on her toes Robin looked up at Alice, who walked over with a blanket wound around her figure, smiling gratefully down at her. “I don't know. Maybe you would turn into a walking Popsicle while dragging a stupid cart around during a storm.”

“A what?” Alice snorted while sitting down on the carpet, rearranging the blanket draped over her shoulder, freeing her arms.

“A Popsicle... It's an ice lolly,” Robin let herself fall back on the ground, next to Alice who still looked totally confused. “Ice cream on a stick?”

“Your world has the most strangest things.”

Robin chuckled, “Says the one who's been to Wonderland and other places.” She nudged Alice playfully in the side, only to frown when she graced an awfully cold piece of her skin. “My god, Alice! You're freaking freezing!”

“Perhaps I am ice riding a stick,” the other commented with a guilty smile.

“Come here,” Robin said waving Alice towards her, only thinking about the other girl's well being at the moment, scolding herself a little for having forgotten Alice's state.

Alice scooted closer and Robin moved to sit behind her, placing a leg on each side of Alice and wrapping her arms around the cold girl to help her warm up.

Alice leaned her back against Robin with a sigh. She shivered and her eyes fluttered close, making Robin notice how she has cleared her face from the smeared eye shadow completely, as she looked over the shoulder of the bright blonde.

Robin's heart stopped for a second before it restarted with a powerful jolt.

Alice was a natural beauty, looking so innocent and soft right now, relaxed against Robin.

Robin wished she had thought this through. Because cuddling in front of the fireplace with the girl, who struck her heartstrings into various melodies, between her legs, was one of those things that made not so platonic feelings punch into her chest. Gulping she tried to ignore the tingle rushing over her skin and the heat flushing through her body, when she took in Alice's sweet scent. She hoped Alice couldn't feel her pulse racing against her back.

Trying to calm down Robin focused on her mission to simply give warmth to Alice, instead of the feeling of the other girl in her arms or the way the drying tips of blonde hair tickled against her cheek and neck. It was a Mission Impossible. Running over buildings like that douche Tom Cruise seemed a lot more easier in this moment.

Dozens of heartbeats passed until she felt Alice move.

“I am sorry I've put you through this,” she mumbled lowly. “You didn't have to stay.”

Not wanting to give Alice's insecurities any feed Robin shrugged nonchalantly, “It's fine. I'm glad I could help. Though, I think you should have left the cart.”

“I couldn't,” Alice murmured despite Robin's attempt of a joke. “Living by myself, taking care of myself while doing the things I've done with my papa is something I need to managae.”

The scales fell from Robin's eyes as she realized why Alice had been so insistent about the damn cart. “You didn't want to fail,” she stated hardly above a whisper.

While Alice was the brightness of summer and the magic of fall, she could be the solitude of winter, too. Carrying her burdens of having been alone, separated from her father for half as long as they'd been together and not having been able to find a cure for her father's heart, was her baggage.

Alice lowered her head. “It might sound stupid. When I left the tower I was seventeen and had lived by myself for years.”

“Believe me, it doesn't,” Robin replied, tightening her hold on Alice and ignoring the flutters cirlcing in her stomach. “When I wasn't good at magic I felt like I failed everyone's expectation of the Wicked Witch's daughter. I've tried some questionable witchcraft to make up for it. And you know what I learned?” She waited for Alice to rise her head and look at her over the shoulder before she continued, “Sometimes, it is just our own expectation we project on others. It's not worth putting your life at risk for them.”

A small smile appeared on Alice's lips. Slowly her eyes brightened. “Thank you. You always find the right words to comfort me.”

“I'm not,” Robin blurted out and received raised eyebrows in response. She chuckled lightly. “I'm not searching for words to make you feel better. I just say what I think is true.”

“That's even better then,” Alice said. The light in her eyes changed. There was something magical resting in the depth of the sky blue orbs. “You comfort me without trying.”

Robin hummed in agreement. Her gaze darted over Alice's face from her smiling eyes to her curled lips. Back and forth, enraptured by the sight.

She felt Alice shift in her arms ever so slightly; her shoulder brushed over Robin's chest bone; her arm grazed her breasts, sending electricity through Robin's body.

Their eyes locked over Alice's shoulder. 

It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. 

The bittersweet coil of anticipation dried Robin's tongue.

Tension thickened her blood and made her fingertips tingle.

Something popped in front of them and they both jumped at the defeaning noise.

Alarmed Robin looked ahead into the flames. The fire crackled and a burst log sank into a pile of embers. The sounds of the fire tuned down again to the volume of the storm outside.

“Jeez,” Robin uttered breathlessly while recovering.

Alice giggled amused. After a while she said, “So we've covered that I've been preparing for winter more or less effectively. What's the news with you?”

Robin leaned back as her heart danced in joy for the first thing on her mind was the idea of being in the Enchanted Forest and close to Alice for as long as she wanted. “I might stay in the Enchanted Forest for good. My mum said she wants to start a life here and built a farm, away from the bunch of nauseously cheery family members.”

When her mum had confronted her with this idea Robin had been able to read her like a book. It wasn't about getting away but about growing roots and starting something new since Robin was already grown-up. But she granted her mum the sassy cover-up.

“That's great!” Alice cheered with a grin. “Except for the nausea, of course.”

Robin chuckled, “She said, if she heard Henry say one last time, 'She's a smart girl,' about his sprout she might turn green again for a different reason than envy.”

Alice's eyes widened, “Your mother was green?”

“Have you never heard of the Wicked Witch of the West in one of the places you've been?” Robin wondered.

“I've been to Oz but I don't think that witch was your mother because the Wicked Witch there had been vanquished by some girl a long time ago,” Alice explained.

“That's strange. My mum was never defeated. She ruled in Emerald City for years before coming to the Enchanted Forest.” With knitted eyebrows Robin searched for an explanation. It had been almost two decades since her mother had left Oz. Maybe the people there celebrated her disappearance as victory. Based on her mother's stories this wouldn't have been unlikely but why making up the girl who she could only assume to be Dorothy?

It suddenly crossed her mind that Ella wasn't the same Cinderella she had gotten to know in Storybrooke as Ashley either. The realms weren't a straight thread but a four dimensional net.

“Oh...” If she hadn't had her arms wound around Alice she would have bumped a fist into her hand. “I get it now! There is a Enchanted Forest 2.0 so there are probably 2.0 versions of Wonderland and Oz.”

“I don't follow.” Alice frowned.

“It's complicated,” Robin replied puffing. “I have troubles keeping up sometimes, too. My family has been there and done that. It's hella messy. Let's just say this realm is a copy of the one my family emerged from with its people having similar life stories. They are different versions of themselves.”

“So there are other versions of us as well?”

“I guess so. Earlier I walked into somebody who needed help and he said something about Robin Hood having vanished from this realm. He probably was another version of my father and not actually my father. Just like my mum isn't the Wicked Witch of Oz 2.0. I am kinda curious what happened to him, though.”

“Does it matter?” Alice asked placing her right hand above Robin's. She leaned her head to the side, smiling contently at Robin. “I think there cannot be any version of Robin Hood better than the one sitting behind me.”

A blush exploded on Robin's face and she looked away. She never was a girl ashamed of receiving compliments but having one coming from Alice, especially such a huge one, was different. All of the compliments she gained during her time as Miss Popular of Storybrooke High couldn't add up to this singular one. Her reaction was embarrassing, though.

'Here you go again with being uncool in front of Alice,' she chastised herself.

She cleared her throat and gazed at Alice again who still looked at her as if she truly believed in what she said. But if she was being honest, Robin was a good version of Robin Hood only because Alice had made her the best version she could be, by reminding her about what Robin Hood was really about.

Even now Robin had a long road up ahead to live up to the name and the man behind it who always had thought of others first and in the end even had sacrificed his own life for that of his soulmate. Adding up to the list was that Robin Hood was a total myth in the so called Land without Magic. Even Mother Theresa or Gandhi would have a hard time getting this mythical and legendary in the long run.

Alice's voice startled her out of her reminiscence asking cautiously, “Did I say something wrong?”

Robin forced out a smile. “You're selling me high. In the world I come from Robin Hood is one of the best known tales all over the world and has been for centuries.”

Alice face split into a grin. “What about my story?” She chirped hopefully, making Robin forget her embarrassment and the jab of melancholia altogether with her unconcealed and adorable enthusiasm.

Robin laughed and teased Alice leaning forward again, almost resting her head on Alice's shoulder. “Competitive now, are we?”

Alice smile transformed into a mischievous smirk. “My papa used to say there is no fun in life without challenges.”

Robin chose to satisfy the bubbly blonde's curiosity, “Your story isn't as old but I'd say it is as famous as mine. If not more. Although the tales of Robin Hood aren't my story but that of my father. I am not the actual Robin Hood but the daughter who inherited the name.”

Alice hummed contemplatively, making Robin feel the tremor of her voice in her own chest. “It's so weird that you come from a world where everyone thinks our lives are nothing more than stories. It's almost as if somebody trapped us on pages.”

“That's actually close to how it happened. There is an author recording all the stories. Currently it's my cousin Henry,” Robin said before recalling something about Henry destroying the pen. He was the author, though, wasn't he? Shaking her head in confusion she added, “Or was. To be honest, I did not understand every story passed on during the weekly Sunday get-together at Granny's. Like I've said it's messy.”

Alice nodded. “I am getting a headache just trying to follow. People say I am troubled but your old world seems to be more trouble.”

“I guess the important thing is that we know we're real and all those other realms and versions are, too. I'd like to see Oz one day even if it is not the same my mum came from,” Robin admitted.

“We should go there then!” Alice suggested, turning around between Robin's legs to face her, forcing Robin to retrieve her arms. She did not get a chance to feel disappointed, though, thanks to the joy dancing in Alice's eyes. “Perhaps after winter so we wouldn't have moved the cart in vain,” Alice added.

“Thought you wanted to stay put,” Robin commented carefully. She did not want to get her hopes up. The very idea of taking a trip with Alice felt like hearing a fairy tale she didn't know was true for the very first time in her life.

“It's not because of a place that I remained where I am. Plus, I could continue my search for a cure to lift the curse of the Poisoned heart on my papa,” Alice continued her argumentation, seeming very delighted at the idea of going to Oz.

“Didn't you say earlier you've been in Oz?”

“It was a mere detour,” Alice said matter-of-factly as if talking about boarding a bus. Maybe realm jumping was the same to her as taking the school bus had been to Robin. “Before I left the Infinite Maze, the Chesire Cat told me to get the Silver Slippers from Oz so I could cross between realms more swiftly to reach the Enchanted Forest.”

“Woah, hold on! Stop right there.” Robin scooted back to stare at Alice, trying to follow the weird tale. “The Cheshire Cat told you to go to Oz?”

“Aha,” Alice nodded and pursed her mouth. “More or less. He talks in riddles.”

“Then you went to Oz somehow...” Robin continued caught between wonder and disbelief. Oz had always been a special realm to her, probably because her mum came from this weird place unlike everyone else who only knew stories about the Enchanted Forest. Oz had always been mystical and familiar at once.

“Through a portal. You better watch your steps in the Infinite Maze. Rabbit holes are scattered all over the place,” Alice said with a knowing grin.

“And then you've obtained the Silver Slippers?”

“Yes, I found them in the Deadly Desert while crossing it with a sand ship and with the help of the Shaggy Man; one of the nicest men you could ever meet.”

“Okay, now I am the one getting the headache.” Releasing a deep breath, Robin tried to complete the picture Alice had just drawn. Infinite Maze, Chesire Cat, Oz, Silver Slippers, Deadly Desert and the Shaggy Man. Alice truly had been on the most unbelievable adventures. Though, when thinking about her own family's story, it probably had the same effect on people if summed up briefly like this. “Okay. I will just accept this. Do you still have the slippers?”

“No, it was too much power and there were a lot of dodgy people who wanted them. I've returned them to the girl who they belonged to. Dor – Dori – something. She gave me a hand full of magic beans in exchange. They are more suitable for running, anyway.”

“Dorothy?”

“Yes! Amazing! How did you know?” Alice beamed at her.

Robin laughed sharply and said smirking her wicked smile, “Just a lucky guess.”

Alice face fell from amazement to joking suspicion. “She has a story, too, hasn't she?”

“Apparently everyone has,” Robin confirmed in a mocking tone. Though her sense for joking dispensed when she thought about the other girl. Honesty clouded her voice, when she told Alice, “But I think yours is my favorite.”

“And you are my favorite version of Robin Hood,” Alice responded with the same honesty and sincerity.

Pure adoration sipped through Robin and made her heart ache and tremble. “You truly are something special, aren't you?” She unconsciously lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair behind Alice's ear. The hair was dry now, for the bigger part, shining again in its golden and awe-inspiring brightness.

Alice smiled slightly. A red hue covered her cheeks, the color had returned to her face, making it glow in its fair complexion instead of the sick paleness from earlier. There was something larger than joy or happiness swimming in her eyes. Something Robin could not name. For a heartbeat she wondered if she was looking into a stormy sky or a calm, deep blue sea, until Alice licked her lips and Robin's thoughts tripped.

“Robin, I want to say thank you. It's been so long since anyone has been there for me or talked to me,” Alice uttered enchantingly. Her eyes misted and her smile broke a little, when she added with a voice weighted with tears, “or held me.”

Just as Robin wanted to shrug it off with a modest smile, Alice caught her by surprise as she leaned in and placed a quick peck onto her lips.

It was over before Robin could register the kiss fully.

Shocked she gasped. Did this just happen?

Stupefied she blinked at Alice.

When Alice leaned away, insecurity swam in her eyes but braver than Robin had ever been she said, “I've been wanting to do that for a while. Is it all right?”

Alice had been waiting to that for a while?

Was it alright?

“Uh huh,” Robin nodded dumbfounded, her eyes trapped on Alice's lip. Unable to think clearly she dove in for a more heated kiss, pulling Alice closer and eliciting a short squeal from the blonde. Yet, it did not take long for Alice to catch herself. Soon she returned Robin's affectionate kiss with vigor.

When Robin finally broke away to catch air she murmured almost as low as a rumble, “More than okay.”

They smiled broadly at each other before meeting for another kiss.

Neither one of them could tell how much time passed while they indulged themselves in timid caresses and testing kisses, growing used to the new found intimacy between them. Brushing their lips together over and over again. A playful nibble here and there. The shy first meeting of their tongues, accompanied with low moans and tiny gasps.

Robin's head started to swim as her longing for Alice wasn't satisfied but intensified by each stroke of their tongues. Before taking it too far she broke them apart, leaning her forehead against Alice's to catch her breath and cool down the blood boiling through her veins.

They had all the time in the world. There was no need to rush things. She was fairly sure Alice had almost no experience and her own was reduced to _Truth or Dare_ smooches and  _Seven Minutes of Heaven_ make out sessions in the poorly locked Storybrooke library on summer nights in Maine.

Proudly she took notice of the swollen lips and darkened eyes of Alice. She would have loved to deepen the color even more but forbid herself to lean in once again – somewhat successful. She folded her arms around Alice instead and buried her face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. She savored the feeling of Alice hugging her back while they both calmed down.

In the end Robin had not needed to ask Alice out to show her what she felt. Before she had even begun to seriously try to deliver the message, Alice had met her all the way. Amused Robin decided, that Alice would make a better courier than she herself did.

Robin was hyped, giddy on this new development. She couldn't cut down the content smile on her face, even if she would want to.

She was with Alice.

Together.

It seemed almost unreal and yet the feel of the other woman in her arms was valid proof that this was nothing but real. It felt like the first step of adventure. A granted wish and promise of something new.

Alice was the brightness of summer and the magic of fall. She could be the solitude of winter. And Alice was the hope of spring.

She heard Alice sigh happily and the realization of them slammed into Robin anew. Smiling she nuzzled into Alice's shoulder.

She listened to the strong pound of the other girl's heartbeat and the crackling of the fire, noticing how the storm outside had calmed down as well.

“There is something I've been meaning to show you,” Alice said after a while. She rose to her feet, dropping the blanket to reveal her usual attire in a dry and red version with her skirt as red as fire and roses. With a cheeky smile she held out her hand to pull Robin up, “Come.”

Robin grabbed the hand and both giggled at Alice's first failed attempt when Robin's backside hit the floor.

She then led Robin through her hut to the corner where her bed stood. Robin gulped, nerves immediately flaming up. She was calmed down, when she saw Alice taking position next to the covered canvas and not the bed. She wouldn't have been able to refuse, if Alice had suggested the thing she had been thinking even if she knew it was too soon but being in love made her needy. She desired Alice. Everything about her.

“I've found out what was missing!” Alice cheered while grabbing the cloth draped over it. With a swift motion she pulled the canvas free.

Unlike a few weeks prior the painting was now done. What Robin saw this time filling the upper left corner, took her breath away.

She froze to the spot as she took in of the sight of herself in her hunter's garb leaning against a tree a few feet away from Alice and her father. It almost looked as if she had been in the picture all along. The colors of her garb matching the surrounding forest, the way she looked at the reunited pair of father and daughter with a smile complimented the atmosphere. Robin perfectly matched the rest of the picture, fitting right in. It was so weird seeing herself painted and yet, it formed a bubble of love inside her heart. Being in the same scene when Alice and her father finally were brought together was a promise many words couldn't express.

“I did not want to picture a future without you in it,” Alice confessed, knocking the breath out of Robin all over again.

Where did Alice find all this courage to tell Robin this?

She was amazing.

It stroke Robin that confidence wasn't the same as courage and that it had been the thing she had lacked all these weeks regarding the pretty blonde with the infectious smile. But Robin was confident and Alice was courageous and together they would be amazing. Because, if she had a say into it, she would like to be a part of Alice's future, too.

She looked at the painting in awe again, unable to keep down the waves of emotion clashing down on her.

Alice wanted her in her future. She wanted a Candy date and a trip to Oz. She wanted Robin near when she and her father were rejoined.

Breathlessly Robin commented, “This looks... Awesome. I don't know. Maybe as if it is meant to be?”

Alice smiled brightly, “It's like my papa wrote me a while ago. You are the perfect match.”

“He did?” Robin blurted out shocked.

“Yes, when I had asked him, if he would mind you spending time with me I might have indicated my interest in you rather bluntly.” Alice smiled cheekily.

Robin's eyes widened, “What?” That was weeks ago! How blind could she have been?

And Nook wrote Alice something like this so long ago? It was no wonder why he had grinned at Robin in a suspicious way that had made Robin very uncomfortable whenever he had handed her a new envelope. She had thought he was onto her feelings for his daughter.

She'd been so, so blind.

Robin laughed. Everything that had disturbed her confidence had just been in her head. Maybe in the future she should heed her own advice a little bit more and don't let herself be controlled by imagined expectations.

All this time Alice's father had sent her signals. Who knows what he might have written Ali –

'Ohhh...', Robin thought as her eyes darted to the soaked coat leaking in the doorway. The one where she had put the last letter in. Her stomach dropped. 'Oh oh.'

Apparantly, she was forgetful now, too.

This time Robin would need to step up and show some bravery. It was one tiny step and being with Alice made her not only confident but courageous. Taking a deep breath she turned to face her girl who had smiled at her as bright as the sun until this moment. “Alice, I need to confess something, too. Though you may not like it.”

\---

Love was like a storm.

It was the rousing of the wind, electrifying and imposing, scary and exciting.

It was the eye of the storm, blindingly real and yet so otherworldly, overwhelming in its unwavering might.

It was the fresh air and smell of rain with the promise of something new, something intriguing - something comforting.

And after a sat out storm, a decoded letter and plans for future adventures Robin and Alice threw themselves into it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Now you know what Wish Hook wrote in the letter. ;P Tried to tie all the threats together as best as I could... Hope it was enjoyable. ;P
> 
> 2\. Figured since we have another version of the Enchanted Forest and Wonderland, there must be another version of Oz, too. Also I am hoping for a spin-off with Rose and Tiera in the lead... Perhaps with adventures in Oz. Well, a girl can dream. XD
> 
> 3\. This story may be finished but I laid some ground for a follow-up story if I come around to write it.^^ (I do have some on-going fics in another fandom and I don't want them to suffer the fate of abandonment so I will have to take care of them, too... Despite my current, not mild obsession with Mad Archer/Curious Archer.)
> 
> 4\. Damn I loved OUAT s07e21! It was such a great writing, with all the nostalgia and history coming in and all the little details. Rewatching it a second time I've noticed a few new things like how Wish Rumple said something about his alter ego being skin deep. SKIN DEEP! All Rumbelle fans know what that refers to. I am sure there is more to find! Worth a third screening!^^  
> Anyway, where was I? Ah yeah, and then Alice and Robin appear and talk about moving in together (*squeal*), without any doubt or reservation. Based on their relationship I don't think there even was any reservation when they've discussed this off-screen in the first place. AND all this touching is just soooo sweet!^^ (They do behave as if it is young love between them... Is this another sign for them slow burn for almost seven years? Hope not... I just take it as a sign that they can't keep their hands off each other after being separated for two years. *grin*) I love their characters and relationship, they are amazingly written and perfectly cast. It's one of the various reasons I wish the show would continue.


End file.
